East Harlem

Spanish Harlem is a Hispanic ethnic enclave to the east Harlem, Manhattan, New York City, established shortly after World War I; it is also known as El Barrio or East Harlem. As Italians moved to New Jersey, The Bronx, Brooklyn, and upstate, immigrants from Puerto Rico and Latin America began to move into the former "Italian Harlem". By 1950, 63,000 Puerto Ricans had moved into Spanish Harlem, and bodega convenience stores and botanica alternative medicine stores opened in the area. Immigrants from the Dominican Republic and Cuba later moved into the area, and economic downturn during the 1970s would lead to Spanish Harlem having the highest murder rate in NYC. Spanish Harlem has suffered from the highest jobless rate in the city, teenage pregnancy, AIDS, drug abuse, homelessness, and an unusually high asthma rate, but it began to be gentrified during the 2010s, with a growing Chinese population emerging in the area. In 2010, 116,000 people lived in Spanish Harlem, with 52.1% being Hispanics, 35.7% African-Americans, 7.3% white, 2.7% Asian, and .2% other races.